Texas is #1 for Maintenance Violations

06 Nov 14

posted by
Arnold & Itkin

A recent analysis into the 2013 federal inspection, investigation and crash
data collected on the commercial trucking industry shows that Texas is
tops in the country in terms of maintenance violations. In 2013, Texas
officials recorded 534,304 inspections on commercial trucks. That number
ranks in the country in terms of overall inspections per lane-mile of
interstate within its borders. While that number is high, it is to be
expected given the size and population of the state. What stands out is
the percentage of all inspection violations that were related to maintenance
of the truck.

Breaking Down Inspection Violations

Texas led the nation in maintenance violations as a percentage of total
violations. Maintenance violations accounted for 85.8% of the total violations
handed out in Texas. The national average is just 72.6%.

Texas even ranked extremely high in the maintenance subcategories of lights,
brakes and tires violations. It ranked 7th in the nation in lights violations,
13th in brakes violations and 2nd in tire violations.

Not only does Texas rank high in terms of maintenance violations per inspection,
but it is also above the national average in terms of total violations
per inspection – handing out 50% more violations than the national
average. Texas hands out 2.9 violations per inspection while the average
is just 1.6 violations.

Focusing On the Truck, Not the Trucker

What this data suggests is that the inspection policies in Texas focus
primarily on the truck, not the truck driver. A look into the inspection
profiles of other states reflect inspection policies that focus more on
violations associated with the most common causes of truck accidents –
driver behavior.

Focusing on the truck during inspections could be an underlying cause of
the state's high number of fatal truck accidents. Texas is in the
middle of an epidemic in terms of fatal truck accidents, but of the top
ten states for truck-involved fatal crashes, only Texas and Virginia record
maintenance violations over the national average.

Trucking Companies Responsible for Maintaining Vehicles

Trucking companies are responsible for keeping their vehicles properly
maintained so they can be operated safely. If a truck that is involved
in an accident does not pass inspection, the trucking company can be held
liable for not equipping the driver with a safe vehicle. If you were involved
in a commercial truck accident, it is important to hire a truck accident
attorney that can fully investigate the scene of accident and the truck
to determine if it had maintenance violations. Our firm has a full team
of investigators ready to determine the root cause of the accident.
Contact our truck accident attorneys today to learn how we can help you recover compensation for your injuries.

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